Putin to staffers: Throw out your iPhones, or 'give it to the kids'
- Reference: 1679380214
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/03/21/kremlin_iphone_ban/
- Source link:
It's part of a larger effort to "abandon American technology," and replace it with apparently more secure IT that can't be hacked by Western cyber spies, the newspaper [1]said .
The Russian report, citing several sources who attended an event in Moscow earlier this month, noted that the country's presidential administration employees have until April 1 to replace their iPhones with Android-based smartphones, or others with Chinese or Aurora operating systems.
[2]
Aurora is a Linux-based smartphone OS developed by Open Mobile Platform, which is owned by Russian IT firm Rostelecom.
[3]
[4]
The new smartphone mandate covers staffers who work in four departments: domestic policy, public projects, state council, and IT and communications infrastructure.
Other regional political bloc governments are reportedly considering similar iPhone bans, and Putin's government is considering buying employees new replacement phones, the report added.
[5]
The iPhone ban is "purely for security reasons," not politics, political scientist Nikolai Mironov told Kommersant.
"After all, there is no mass rejection of 'unfriendly' brands, they continue to be used where it does not pose a threat of data leakage," he added. "So I don't see politics here, a purely pragmatic solution."
[6]With a straight face, Putin agrees to do something about ransomware coming out of Russia, apparently
[7]Google says NYET! to Putin, pulls techies out of Russia – report
[8]Kremlin names the internet giants it will kidnap the Russian staff of if they don't play ball in future
[9]US nuke agency hacked by suspected Russian SolarWinds spies, Microsoft also installed backdoor
When asked about the smartphone policy, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "smartphones should not be used for official business."
"Any smartphone has a fairly transparent mechanism, no matter what operating system it has – Android or iOS," Peskov said, according to [10]Reuters . "Naturally, they are not used for official purposes."
The Kremlin does, however, use smartphones for [11]espionage purposes . Quite a lot in fact.
[12]
Putin reportedly refuses to [13]use a smartphone , which, if you are a politician (or anyone else) wanting to avoid cyber snoops entirely, isn't the worst idea in the world. Former British Prime Minister claimed he [14]never owned a mobile phone until he left political office.
Considering the many high-profile hacks in the decade-and-a-half since, as well as the flying [15]Pegasus mobile phone spyware , it may be one of the few how-not-to-get-your-phone-hacked solutions that actually work. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/5886759?from=top_main_5
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZBmOUb-7yGCj-e5tUQ@z@wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZBmOUb-7yGCj-e5tUQ@z@wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZBmOUb-7yGCj-e5tUQ@z@wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZBmOUb-7yGCj-e5tUQ@z@wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/12/in_brief_security/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2014/12/12/nyet_geeks_for_you_google_pulling_engineers_out_of_russia_reports/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2021/11/25/tech_offices_russia/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/18/solarwinds_nnsa_microsoft_cisa/
[10] https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/kremlin-tells-officials-stop-using-iphones-kommersant-newspaper-2023-03-20/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2022/07/20/google_russia_android_malware/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZBmOUb-7yGCj-e5tUQ@z@wAAABc&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://tass.com/society/1237157
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2012/03/03/tony_blair_rsa/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/24/nso_customers_eu_pegasus/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
That'll help
iPhone - Known to spy for Apple.
Android phone - Known to spy for Google.
Samsung phone - Theater of security always defeated by sloppy quality and shovelware.
Chinese phone - Some spy for China, some don't. Usually contains an unpatched exploit to be used anonymously by anyone.
A phone claiming it's insecure because the bootloader is unlocked for LineageOS - Probably the most secure phone if nobody has touched it.
I wouldn't touch a Russian phone. Nope. Nope. Maybe it contains poison darts.
Re: That'll help
All Chinese phones spy for the CCP, its the law.
Its why they loved Covid so they could lock everyone into having to use the app to take a train, go in a shop etc.
Xi is loving the thought they'd use Chinese phones. He'll probably provide them for free. So then China has full access inside the Russian government.
Re: That'll help
All Chinese phones spy for the CCP, its the law.
I'm interested to know more about this. Sources please?
Re: That'll help
Seriously?
https://digichina.stanford.edu/work/translation-cybersecurity-law-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china-effective-june-1-2017/
Re: That'll help
"So then China has full access inside the Russian government."
Russia thinks China is a friend when all China is doing is getting Russia hooked on them so they can raid their resources. I don't think Putin realises he's walking Russia into being China's slave.
Good thing then
That Android isn't written by a US company! Yeah yeah they can get ones without any of the closed source Google stuff but I didn't see anything about that in their edict.
Throw out your iPhones
Fast forward: Lavrov defects and opens a how-not-to-be-seen school of diplomacy in London
Re: Throw out your iPhones
well, Zakharova signs up!
twitter.com/Gerashchenko_en/status/1637765729893138434?cxt=HHwWhIC2uaHQwbotAAAA
> more secure IT that can't be hacked by Western cyber spies
True. It's very difficult to hack a brick that barely functions as a phone, let alone a smartphone.
Russia is just demonstrating that it can (at least try) and be technology independent. That's just one of their current weaknesses.
How about Europe push harder on renewables and get energy independence? You know, away from corrupt totalitarian regimes like the US, Saudi Arabia, Russia and the other, mostly Middle East, fiefdoms. This would save a lot of money and grant a lot of freedoms to act and say how they want.
but what about the shareholders?
this would have a very bad effect on Tory fanatics. The only reason the UK Gov coughed up £400 for everyone was to protect the shareholders (and likely Tory fanatic donors) bank balances. It would also have an adverse effect on those potential directorships at the likes of BP, Shell et al who the Tory mobsters have striven to cement for themselves through all this shambles
Re: but what about the shareholders?
Europe (as a political entity, including the EEA and EU), not UK. The UK no longer has a seat at that particular tables.
Sounds partly logical from Russia. I wonder why it trusts China, because it's sure China spies on it
iPotato 7 now out
You can hold it, throw it, smell it and maybe eat it when heating go off again.